Celebrating 60/45 on St. Patrick's Day

My race day, birthday FB post:
Thank you all for the birthday wishes. I am blessed ,and not because my birthday falls on St. Patrick's Day. When I ran my first cross country race, still running 45 years later was not a thought. 60 years of aging and 45 years of running has taught me not every race is about testing my limits, every run is a celebration of physical, mental and spiritual health, and the people you encounter along the way are the blessings. #celebrating60/45

The Run to Get Lucky 5k was meant to be a test of my current fitness. I'd had several very good runs and was looking forward to the race. Then Wednesday morning before the race, on my morning run coming off a downhill a sharp pain struck my left hamstring. I stopped immediately and walked home, with a very sore muscle.

I spent the rest of the week icing it. On Saturday, it was better but I could still feel some irritation. As I warmed up for the race it became a bit more sore and I was concerned it would get worse as I ran. My race plan changed to going out very slowly and hoping it wouldn't get worse. As I ran the first mile I was very cautious and remained concerned. As I passed one mile in 10:20 I felt a bit of relief that it was no more sore than at the start. I decided I could gradually increase the pace.

During the second mile there were some slight up and downs. I was concerned even the mild downhill would cause it to get worse, fortunately that didn't happen. The second mile dipped to 9:24 pace. When I hit mile 2 I decided I'd pick up the pace for a faster finish. The last mile was significantly faster as I passed mile 3 in 27:54 and crossed the line with a watch time of 28:34. An 8:10 last mile.

Though it wasn't the race I wanted to run the  significance was that on my 60th birthday I was able to run. Jared ran with me and I appreciated his company. He was kind enough to hang with me and I'm sure he would have walked me back to the start had I pulled up lame.

As I noted in my FB post, not all races are about testing ones limits. This one turned out not to be about testing the limits of my current fitness but about being able to continue racing now and into the future. Embracing the lessons of the tens of thousands of miles run, to run and race smart among them, will help me continue to celebrate beyond 60/45.

That Guy and I attacked the 5 mile hill loop

It has been a couple years since I've run the Evans Valley/Steelhammer loop. It is a 5 mile route with 3 significant hills. This weekend That Guy and I ran it.

 

 I hadn't had the confidence in doing the run. I knew the hills were glute busters and then you have 2 more miles to get home. I finally felt mentally and physically ready.

It was as tough as i remembered, but I was able to do it, not with ease but without feeling wiped out or discouraged. Rather i felt encouraged after, knowing that I'm getting stronger. Even running

down hill was better than I expected, my knees ached but not painful.

It's two weeks before my birthday run and a month before the sprint tri. I'm feeling pretty good about the 5k, I hope to get time on my bike in the next several weeks.

Sometimes I actually show the wisdom of my age

Years ago when I experienced a bad run, I would run through it. It's different now. If I don't have any zip in my legs or knees or back are discomforting sore I back off, shorten the run and call it a day. I'm not training for speed or distance, just longevity.  So backing off and waiting for another day is perfectly fine. I still have the mental discussion about whether I should continue on in hopes the run gets better. It's the young competitor not wanting to give in. But fortunately the wiser veteran wins out, the majority of the time.

This morning I was planning on a 5 miler. The past two Mondays I did 5 so why not this one. The main difference is the previous Mondays I had not swam 1500m the day before. I don't know if that was the reason for my sluggishness but it's something to track to see. Last week was also the highest mileage running week and a gradual increasing in the mileage the past 2 weeks, so maybe it was a signal to have an easy day/week.